Saturday, July 4, 2009

PENANG, July 4 — The Penang government said today it will be too costly for it to acquire the land in Kampung Buah Pala from a cooperative and a developer to enable the 23 squatter families facing eviction to continue to live there.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he sympathised with the villagers but the cost of the land was high as it was freehold and had been approved for development.

The Federal Court had ruled that the land belonged to the Penang Government Officers Cooperative and developer Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd and that the villagers had to vacate it.

Lim, caught between the demands of the villagers and the court ruling, had asked the federal government to acquire the land from the cooperative and the developer.

Speaking to reporters after opening the Penang International Halal Hub task force meeting here, he said the Federal Court ruling had to be adhered to although the villagers had lived there for a long time.

He said that despite the court ruling, the state government had succeeded in getting a month-long extension for the villagers to move out.

Besides asking the federal government to acquire the land, Lim also advised the developer to pay the agreed compensation of RM200,000 to each of the families facing eviction and called on the families to accept the payment.

When told that the developer did not want to pay the compensation and the villagers did not want to move out, he said the state government would issue a directive to stop the developer from starting work at the site but added that this would incur financial cost to the state government.

"What else can the state government do? Like the Kampung Buah Pala villagers, the state government is also a victim in the case because it was not us who started the issue. Therefore, do not blame the state government," he said.

Lim said he was not avoiding a meeting with the villagers but the work of a group of opportunists had worsened the situation.

"I regret that a small group of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members had attempted to become heroes and worsened the situation when (Deputy Chief Minister I) Mansor Othman tried to resolve the problem.

"I am prepared to meet the villagers but not the opportunists. I have no qualms about meeting the villagers but my two deputies (deputy chief ministers I and II) have done an excellent job of that," he said. — Bernama

P. Uthayakumar will call on the United Nations to revoke George Town’s listing as a World Heritage site if the Penang government sits back and allow the demolition of Kampung Buah Pala.

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader, today told The Malaysian Insider he was preparing to write to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and is undertaking the necessary research to make his case.

George Town, along with Malacca, was declared World Heritage sites by Unesco almost a year ago.

Uthayakumar, a lawyer by profession, said Penang does not deserve the Unesco recognition if it cannot even preserve the last and only Indian village on the island.

“Demolishing the settlement which has been around for over 100 years will not only destroy the homes of villagers but their way of life, livelihood and culture.”

The settlement of 41 families, most of whom are plantation workers and cowherds can trace their roots back five generations.

While Uthayakumar acknowledges it was the former BN state government which had allowed the land to be sold to a private developer, he maintains it’s the current government who must find a solution.

“We have gone to the village, the people there are desperate and they have pleaded with us to save their homes.”

He said despite denials, the issue was a racial one because authorities and the developer had earmarked Kampung Buah Pala because the people have no political clout.

“I would like to see them try and demolish a Malay village or Chinese fishing jetty on the Island.”

He cited the example of DAP pulling out of the Kedah state government because of the demolition of a pig abattoir.

“The DAP, like PKR and PAS, are supposed to be multiracial but they seem only to act when the issue affects the Malays or Chinese”.

He said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should offer the developer another site to build their condominiums while developing Kampung Buah Pala’s culture, heritage and history to draw more tourists to the island.

When will Utusan Malaysia, which had such a illustrious place in the history of Malaysian journalism, end its descent into the gutter and stop being a racist newspaper of untruths and falsehoods, and honour the journalistic maxim “Comment is free but facts are sacred”?

That I started the war of words by attacking Hishammuddin as a “pondan Minister” is a downright lie.

This Utusan Malaysia article is based on the Utusan Malaysia’s parliamentary report of Tuesday’s parliamentary exchange, which appeared in Utusan Malaysia on Wednesday in its parliamentary report “Badan bebas siasat salah penjawat awam” which among other things, read:

Again, the message of the Utusan Malaysia report was that I started the war of words by using the offensive and unparliamentary term “pondan”, which I have said is a downright lie.

The position is not helped by having a most unfair Deputy Speaker, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar, who was in the Chair at the time, subsequently talking to Utusan implying that I had started the exchange on “pondans”, as reported in the Utusan report on Wednesday, entitled “Kit Siang paling tidak beretika – Wan Junaidi”, which read:

That all these three Utusan reports alleging that I had started the war of words during the Ministerial reply on the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission Bill in Parliament on Tuesday are lies could be verified by the 30th June 2009 Hansard report up on Parliament website, which showed very clearly that Nazri was the first to use the unparliamentary term of “pondan” against another MP and provoke the ruckus in Parliament.

Nazri had resorted to the unparliamentary term “pondon” in response to a very legitimate question I raised as to why the new Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was not in the House to answer questions about police failure to perform the three core functions recommended by the Police Royal Commission – to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

In fact, I had earlier said the main subject of the parliamentary debate should be on the police and the key recommendation of the Police Royal Commission to establish an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) had been deflected, as this was the genesis as to why the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission Bill was before the House.

Instead of a rational answer, Nazri went into a fit with his “pondon allegation” which led to a pandemonium in the House, as recorded by the Hansard of June 30, 2009 (pp 40-41) as follows:

When Nazri used the unparliamentary term “pondan”, the normal parliamentary response is to stand up to draw the attention of the Chair and to demand he retract it as it is against parliamentary standing orders.

There could be two outcomes: firstly, he would refuse but keep repeating it and if one is persistent enough, with support from the Chair, he would reluctantly withdraw it but after using the unparliamentary term several times. Secondly, the demand for him to retract the term “pondan” would lead to pandemonium in the House and the Chair ending the ruckus, without any satisfactory solution to the use of the unparliamentary term.

Both outcomes were unsatisfactory. I instinctively decided to resort to “a tooth for a tooth”response and reciprocate the term “pondan” for the Ministerial front-benches, although it is a term I would never have used, and had never used since entering Parliament in 1969!

The point of the statement today however is to point out the lies and falsehoods of Utusan Malaysia in reporting on Wednesday that I had started the ruckus by calling Hishammuddin a “pondan Minister” followed by an article in Utusan Malaysia attacking me for something I had not done!

Is Utusan Malaysia prepared to admit its mistake and publicly apologise for its parliamentary report on Wednesday and the parliamentary commentary today?

When will Utusan Malaysia return to the tenets of responsible and truthful journalism, as pioneered by the founders and early editors of Utusan Malaysia.

The opinions and conclusions are entirely mine. Feel free to correct me if you think I am in error.

The land now called Kg Buah Pala was occupied by settlers more than 200 years. Some 150 years ago, David Brown, who then owned the coconut plantation there, gave the land to the settlers for them to continue their farming activity. A written document exists to prove this. After Brown returned to Britain, the State Government took over the land and proceeded to collect annual TOL rent from the villagers.

In 1999, the villagers applied for the land to be gazetted as Heritage Land. But the then government dragged its feet over the matter and failed (or refused) to take concrete action.

I have no idea how many people were privy to the fact that a developer called Nusmetro Ventures had a plan to develop condominiums on the land occupied by Kg Buah Pala. I also have no idea when the project was launched. But I do know that, as early as December 2007, even before any land transfer had taken place, prospective buyers were already discussing the launching price and putting down deposits.

In retrospect, it appears that the BN government had no intention of gazetting Kg Buah Pala as Heritage land. Instead, the land was to be sold to a developer to build the condominium project. In the process, BN cronies, including senior state government servants, were to make fat profits.

At the time of campaigning for the 12th General Elections, residents of Kg Buah Pala claim that they highlighted their problem to the PR candidate who promised that, if they won the elections, they would solve the problem. I have not seen any recorded evidence of the PR candidates making that promise. But I find it quite believable simply because, at that time, the DAP did not expect to win outright.

After the PR took over the State Government, the plotters behind the scheme had a problem. People within the government would lose the lucrative profit they were expecting to make. The crony developer would lose a lot of money already spent on launching the project. Buyers of the condo units would only get partial refunds because lawyers fees and so on would not be returned. They would stand to lose lots of money. It was a real mess that the plotters had to clear up, which they did.

3 weeks after the PR took control of Penang, the Kg Buah Pala land was quietly transferred to the Senior Government Servants Cooperative for them to sell to Nusmetro Ventures (and enjoy the promised profit). Right under Lim Guan Eng's nose!

The initial transfer of the land and the subsequent sale of it took place after the PR government had come into power. They could have stopped it if they had wanted to. But had it been stopped, they would have to face the wrath of the buyers of the condos. If the project went through, only the Kg Buah Pala residents would be affected. I suspect this is why the Lim Guan Eng government closed its eyes until it was too late.

Lim Guan Eng is now claiming that the developer had offered a compensation of RM200,000 per residence which the settlers rejected. The truth is, the compensation offered was only RM90,000 and this was accepted by only 6 of the 41 families living there. The others rejected the offer not because the money was not enough but because they only wanted to stay on the land that had been settled on by their ancestors. They needed the land so that they could continue with their livelihood - rearing cows and goats.

The Chief Minister has the power to acquire the land. Of course he has to compensate the buyer. But his claim that he had to pay RM200 per sq ft is ridiculous. The land acquisition was done under suspect circumstances. The buyer only has to be paid a nominal sum above the purchase price. The CM's personal assistant estimated that the compensation may cost up to RM30 million but LGE exaggerated that figure in his press statement. No one really seems to know what the actual payout would amount to.

What I can see is an unwillingness on the part of the Penang State Government to stop the project. I can understand why LGE fears to do that. The buyers of that project together with their relatives and friends would constitute a huge voter block. He cannot afford to antagonise them. He may not be corrupt, but he is a politician. He is in power on the votes of his supporters. He is surely beholden to them.

Everyone is lambasting Hindraf for their confrontational attitude. Well, don't forget that the reasonable negotiating attitude that had been adopted for some 10 years, all the way until that point had resulted in utter failure. If Hindraf had not acted as they did, Kg Buah Pala would be reduced to rubble by now.

Hindraf has won a month of time for all parties to come out with a fair solution. Let us see if the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government led by Lim Guan Eng has what it takes to address this really difficult issue and fix it.

The PR government may not be guilty of any corruption or illegal action. But they are guilty of inaction, which has brought grief to the settlers. It is morally wrong to make it seem like the settlers are greedy and are demanding more compensation. All the settlers are asking for is to be left alone to do what they have been doing for more than 200 years.

The right and proper thing to do is to confiscate all profits made from this nefarious project and use that to compensate the affected parties equitably. If the Penang government is unable to do that for whatever reason, they have to do the next best thing.

Identify a suitable alternative location that is acceptable to the Kg. Buah Pala settlers and help them to rebuild their settlement. The settlers are not asking for fancy urban homes or money. They just want to be able to continue with their lives and livelihood. Is that too much to ask?

What I recommend is not impossible to do. It only requires a willingness on the part of Lim Guan Eng's government to prove that they are truly a People's Government and not merely a Taxpayer's Government.

Earlier this week the Home Minister had issued a statement in Parliament amongst others that I had left the Country on the 28th November 2007 to lobby International support and to make efforts to meet leaders of the LTTE.

The above information has apparently been obtained from intelligence reports.

The baseless and unfounded allegation of Hishamuddin that I had made attempts to make contact with LTTE is absolutely ridiculous. I challenge Hishamuddin to provide the proof to the Malaysian public openly.

If that was the case why did the British government grant me political asylum status under the United Nation 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugee owing to fear of persecution by the Malaysian government for social activities that was carried out by HINDRAF in Malaysia. For the public’s information, LTTE is a proscribed organization both in England and India. In that case even the other Hindraf lawyers who had faced illegal incarceration are equally exonerated from such malicious allegation.

On 5th December 2007 it was the Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail who made this unfounded allegation in an open Court bail application hearing against innocent Hindraf supporters. Thereafter on the 13th December 2007 the Inspector General of Police and the Former Prime Minister made similar unfounded allegations against HINDRAF Lawyers.

When challenged to prove those allegations they went mute and the facts were twisted that the Lawyers had raised religious sentiments when the Lawyers had merely advocated the rights of Freedom of Religion under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I have always maintained that I am a Human Rights Advocate and have never deviated in my duty to uphold the Malaysian Federal Constitution and protect the Rule of Law.

I have no fear of the UMNO regime and its prison and have proven myself when I voluntarily denied bail upon arrest on a politically motivated sedition charge on 23rd November 2007.

I now challenge Hishamuddin to do the following:

a)immediately issue a fresh International Passport under my name ( I will not accept the old passport which has been invalidated and

m most likely “marked invalidated” by the British Immigration Office);

b)arrestand charge me in open courtfor treason upon myreturnfor the alleged “attempt to make contact with LTTE”

The “Criminal” Charge would give me an opportunity to prove that this Government had no evidence whatsoever and the whole works of the system right from the former Prime Minister, Attorney General, Inspector General of Police to the current leaders have lied and misled the Malaysian public and deliberately demonized HINDRAF, my colleagues and me.

If Hishamuddin fails to do the above he should publicly apologize to all Malaysians and Parliamentarians for misleading them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, all the individuals named in the proceedings were involved in promoting the conspiracy, or they were allegedly in a position to stop the misdeed, but refrained from doing so.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

By Wayne ArnoldThe New Work TimesDecember 27, 2002

First he lost control of Malaysia's national airline, then one of its biggest cellular operators. Now Tajudin Ramli, the tycoon whose corporate empire has been besieged by the very government that helped him build it, appears to have lost control of his flagship holding company, too.

Malaysia's bad-debt agency, Pengurusan Danaharta, appointed special administrators earlier this week to take over day-to-day operations at Mr. Tajudin's aviation holding company, Naluri. The move came after the agency scrapped a 510.9 million ringgit ($134 million) deal to sell Mr. Tajudin's 45 percent stake in Naluri to recover some of the roughly 1 billion ringgit he owes Danaharta.

''We have to make sure that our rights are protected,'' said Izhar Hifnei Ismail, an agency spokesman. ''What we really want to see is that whatever value there is preserved.''

Seizing control of Naluri also gives the agency control of roughly 900 million ringgit ($236 million) left over from the government's much criticized, 1.8 billion ringgit buyout in late 2000 of Mr. Tajudin's stake in the Malaysian Airline System, the flag carrier. Naluri's new administrators will now be able to open Naluri's books, repeating a process that has already produced charges of financial misconduct against Mr. Tajudin at the two other companies he used to run.

The unraveling of Mr. Tajudin's holdings and the surrounding scandal are part of a purge by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of the entrepreneurs he once relied on as nation builders. In their place, he has promoted a group of technocrats, like those who run Danaharta, to overhaul corporate Malaysia.

While it no longer has a business of its own, Naluri owns stakes in four small airlines, including World Airways in the United States. It also owns part of a Malaysian aircraft parts company with Boeing. Executives at Naluri said they were prohibited from commenting by the special administrators. Mr. Tajudin was unavailable, they said.

A former merchant banker, Mr. Tajudin rose to prominence in the late 1980's under Daim Zainuddin, then the finance minister. Mr. Tajudin's company, Technology Resources Industries, bought Naluri, then called Malaysian Helicopter Services, from the struggling Malaysian Airline System in 1991. The same year, Technology Resources bought the country's sole cellular operator, Celcom.

Mr. Tajudin capped the rapid expansion of Malaysian Helicopter in 1994 by turning around and paying 1.79 billion ringgit in cash for the central bank's controlling stake in Malaysian Airline System, financing the purchase with a huge loan backed by his own shareholdings.

Mr. Tajudin's borrowing caught up with him, however, when the Asian financial crisis hit Malaysia in 1997. While Technology Resources and Celcom managed to win restructuring deals with creditors, Mr. Tajudin tried in vain to sell his stake in Malaysian Airline to pay off debts.

In late 2000, the government -- with Mr. Daim doing a reprise as finance minister -- finally bought out Mr. Tajudin, paying Naluri the same price per share it had paid for Malaysian Airline seven years earlier. The bailout, which paid Mr. Tajudin more than twice the prevailing market price, provoked widespread public outrage and was followed by the ouster of Mr. Daim.

Since then, the airline's new managers have asked the police to investigate allegations of irregularities involving a contract with a Naluri cargo venture in Germany.

The new owner of Technology Resources has made similar accusations. Mr. Tajudin lost control of the company last spring when he failed to make payments on roughly 1 billion ringgit in personal loans backed by his stakes in Technology Resources and Naluri. Securities regulators refused to let him use the funds raised by the sale of his Malaysian Airline stake, much of which is still at Naluri. Danaharta, which had bought the loans from local banks, in turn sold his stake in Technology Resources to Telekom Malaysia.

This summer, Danaharta agreed to sell Mr. Tajudin's stake in Naluri to a little-known company called Valiant Entity. Local newspapers have linked Valiant to Mr. Tajudin, but Danaharta said it had no evidence of a connection. Either way, when Valiant failed to provide Danaharta with a required letter of credit for the purchase by a Dec. 17 deadline, Danaharta called off the sale and appointed special administrators for Naluri from KPMG.

Taking over the management of Naluri is an extraordinary move: the agency usually takes over only deeply indebted companies that it deems beyond restructuring. Naluri has no debts. But Mr. Tajudin remains Naluri's chairman and largest shareholder. In August, Naluri proposed buying back roughly 830 million ringgit in stock from its shareholders.

(Bernama) - Two police reports were made yesterday against Lembah Pantai member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), in relation to her allegations that the fire at squatter area Bukit B, Kerinchi here recently was planned by certain quarters.

The reports were made separately by Lembah Pantai Umno Youth vice-chief Zailani Abu Bakar and the deputy head of the Peninsular Malay Students Federation Mohd Nazri Abdul Rahman at the Brickfields police district headquarters at 3pm.

They also made similar reports against Lembah Pantai PKR vice-chief Amin Mian in relation to the same allegations.

Zailani told reporters that the statements by Nurul Izzah and Amin could lead to public disorder and erode confidence in the government.

Dr Mahathir has dismissed the efforts of Najib to liberalise the economy.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed the efforts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to liberalise the economy, saying they were “not going to help anybody”.

The plan seemed designed to make Najib popular, said Dr Mahathir, adding: “It will not help the Chinese, Malays or Indians.”

Dr Mahathir was asked to comment on Najib's steps to open up the economy to make it more attractive for foreign investors.

The steps included relaxing a host of restrictions on foreign investment, including a rule requiring businesses to be partly owned by Malays.

Listed companies will no longer be required to allocate 30 per cent of their stake to Malays as part of an affirmative action programme for the country's Malays.

Among other measures were allowing stock brokers and unit trust management companies 70 per cent foreign ownership, up from the current level of 49 per cent.

Najib also announced a government private equity fund to invest in high-growth industries and promote Bumiputera ownership of Malaysian businesses.

Najib said the Bumiputera rule for companies was neither benefiting poor Malays nor sustainable amid the global economic slowdown, which would force Malaysia into its first recession in a decade.

But Dr Mahathir was not impressed.

“I think it's a kind of move more designed towards becoming popular. I don't know if it will help the economy, because Malaysia has been growing since independence,” The Star newspaper on its website quoted Dr Mahathir as saying.

“Now that there is a lack of growth, this is due more to external reasons. It's not about internal things,” he told reporters.

He also said Malaysia should be cautious of foreign investors keen on total ownership of fund management companies as they “owed no loyalty to the country”.

“They are here to make money. When they can't make money, they go out and we pay the price,” he was quoted as saying.

He asserted the potential hazard of capital flight should investors no longer find the Malaysian market lucrative saying: “In some instances, they come to build factories and produce things for export. Well, that's fine. But when they can openly go into the market, well, that's not good,” he said. — Straits Times

GEORGE TOWN (July 3, 2009) : Penang Chief Minister's Chief of Staff Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun has called for a domestic inquiry to be carried out on a Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor for alleged abused of power over a stop-work order issued against a condominium developer in Batu Lanchang.

Ooi said the PKR councillor, which he declined to name, had tried to push MPPP officers to retable the One-Stop Centre (OSC) papers for the stop-work order to be withdrawn against the developer, and to enable the latter to continue construction work, on June 26 and 29.

"The councillor has violated the code of ethics by pushing the MPPP officers. He is only supposed to bring an official proposal in any official meetings recognised by the local authorities. I ask for a domestic inquiry to be carried out on this councillor immediately to ensure he does not have any conflict of interest. He should not behave like a hero or a cowboy," said Ooi at a press conference here today.

oi said the stop-work order was issued on June 26 against Insa Properties Sdn Bhd, as it had continued heavy construction work on site beyond the stipulated hours of 8am to 6pm.

Ooi, who is also MP for Jelutong, said he had received many complaints from residents that heavy construction work was ongoing after 6pm, as well as open burning, the disposal of concrete into drains and noise pollution since February this year.

"I have written to the state government on this matter, and the name of the councillor is stated in the letter," he said. "The councillor should abide by the CAT (Competency, Accountability and Transparency) principle at all time."

When contacted, Insa Properties Sdn Bhd director Chee Cheng Boon said they had appealed against the stop-work order several days after it was issued.

Chee assured that once the stop-work order is revoked, construction work will not continue after 6pm, asking the residents to "bear with us for the time being".

Chee also apologised, saying they were making up for lost time as the cement company had been slow in delivery. He said construction work was being carried out overtime only once or twice a month.

SHAH ALAM: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor has advised the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to be open to the proposed amendment to three laws related to Islamic matters.

Mais secretary Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi said yesterday the sultan wanted Mais and the relevant authorities to study the proposed amendments and to accept them if it were good for Muslims and fair to all.

The main contentious issue in the amendments is a proposal to disallow religious conversion of minors by one parent without the spouse's consent.

The Rulers Council deferred its decision last Monday as it wanted to allow state Islamic religious councils to study the laws and offer their views.

The three laws are Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.

Khusrin, in a statement, said Mais officials received the advice after being called for an audience with the sultan on June 25.

"The sultan said the proposal should be accepted provided that it did not go against Islamic rules and did not reduce the power of the rulers as guardians of Islam and head of Islam in the state.

"The sultan also instructed the Mais chairman to call for a meeting to discuss this matter.

"A representative from the attorney-general's chambers will be requested to give a briefing on the proposed amendments to the acts."

Eight Burmese detainees were wounded after a small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang Township, in Malaysia on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Lwin Oo, one of the detainees involved in the riot at the camp, said the trouble started at 8pm after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp.

The detainees began breaking up the walls of their rooms and throwing plates at security officers, demanding prison authorities release the 30 people who had been loaded onto the truck.

The police used tear gas to break up the riot.

“We are very angry after we heard they had beaten and forced fellow prisoners to get on a truck and be moved another camp. When they came for them they said it was only to meet officials from the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees],” he said.

Aung Lwin Oo was in hiding as he talked to The Irrawaddy by phone from the camp. Camp authorities ban the use of mobile phones.

“On Tuesday, two Burmese detainees were also seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine. One detainee was beaten around the eyes,” Lwin Oo reported.

“We don’t know if he will regain his vision because his eyes are filled with blood. At the moment he can’t see,” he said. “The other detainee suffered cigarette burns on his body and is in serious condition now.”

Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR based in Kuala Lumpur told The Irrawaddy, Thursday, that a group from UNHCR left for the camp that morning to investigate the riot.

She said that she was unable to provide any further details on what happened at the camp.

The Malaysian National News Agency announced on their Bernama website that no one was injured during the riot and that the situation was under control.

According to Burmese rights groups in Malaysia, there are about 700 Burmese detainees at the Semenyih Immigration camp. They are accusing camp authorities of keeping people who have already served sentences in detention.

Roi Mon, a member of the Mon Refugees Organization based in Malaysia, said that inmates do not have enough food and water, and the camp is crowded because the authorities have refused to release detainees.

Meanwhile, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 released in June, the US State Department put Malaysia back on the Tier 3 blacklist for its record of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. Malaysia joins 16 other countries including Burma, North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe on the blacklist.

The report accused Malaysia authorities of deporting Burmese detainees to the Thai-Malaysia border and selling them to human traffickers, who then demanded ransoms for their release.

If payments were not made, the victims would be forced to work as slave labor on fishing boats in Thailand and Indonesia, and women could be forced to work as prostitutes in brothels.

Malaysian authorities have disputed the report’s conclusions.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, about 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- While the now fragile Pakatan Rakyat is trying to "resuscitate" its support from the Indian community, the MIC has been moving silently on the ground, wooing disgruntled Indians who are angered with the handling of several issues by the opposition coalition.

The campaign mounted by the MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu himself had received encouraging response, especially from Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In Perak, the NGOs have formed a consultative council with the MIC to address the various Indian issues with the state government and similar councils were being formed in other states, Samy Vellu told Bernama here today.

"We are networking with the NGOs because they represent a wide spectrum of people, some who may not want to be aligned to any political parties," he said.

Samy Vellu said through the consultative councils, the problems faced by the Indians could be addressed in a holistic manner.

"The NGOs and the MIC will seek solutions to the problems collectively and submit the findings to the federal and state governments for further action," he said.

Samy Vellu said the 'MIC-NGO Partnership' was a new strategy to woo more Indians to support Barisan Nasional as many Indians might not be keen to join any political parties.

"We want every Indian irrespective of their background to join in the decision-making process so that they will feel a sense of belonging and will not feel being left out," he said.

Samy Vellu said he would be touring the country in the next two months to hold meetings with the NGOs.

"We hope to gather all the Indian NGOs to support the new policies being introduced by (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's administration," he added.

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today denied the allegation that his party cared more for pigs than the plight of humans.

He was responding to the allegation by Kampung Buah Pala residents in Penang who are sore with his son - Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng - with regards to the eviction orders slapped on them.

He also clarified that Kedah DAP's decision to quit the state Pakatan Rakyat coalition was not based solely on the demolishment of the pig abattoir.

"DAP felt many issues concerning the people of Kedah were not taken seriously by the state government.

“The abattoir issue is the straw that broke the camel's back... I think they (villagers) were just misinformed," he told a press conference at the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

As for the Kampung Buah Pala crisis, Lim said the 'High Chaparral' saga should have been resolved by the previous state government led by Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon.

"Villagers are now being evicted and (this proves) the previous state government had breached the people's trust in alienating the land well below market price and without consulting the people.

"That is why I think the former chief minister now a federal minister must come out and explain in the open why it was done," he said.

Hefty price to pay

Lim also defended his son who has come under intense pressure over the issue.

Although he agreed that the crisis could be resolved by 'a stroke of the pen' as suggested by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar, Lim however said this would cost the state government and the people a hefty price.

"The development project on the site has emerged and it costs RM150 million and approximately RM200 million for the whole area.

"If it involves the compensation of RM150 million, can the state government and the people afford it? There are 23 families affected by this," he said.

According to him, the only win-win solution is for Koh to act responsibly and raise this matter with the federal government.

"He then needs to ask for an allocation or a grant to the state government, an amount necessary to have a win-win solution," he said.

A Pakatan Rakyat ally today ticked off Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for attempting to resolve the 'High Chaparral' crisis through media statements, rather than working out a proactive action plan.

PKR state chief Zahrain Hashim wants Lim to go to the ground, get his facts right and find an amicable win-win solution for all to end the Kampung Buah Pala crisis in Bukit Gelugor.

He said he was shocked that Lim had not visited the village until today since becoming chief minister 15 months ago.

He chided Lim for relying for information on the crisis from his deputies, rather than getting it himself.

As a result, he said Lim (right) was being accused of misinforming the public on several contentious issues pertaining to the crisis, such as on the quantum of the compensation offered by the developer.

"Information from third party amounts to hearsay. As chief minister, Lim should get it from the villagers... meet the villagers," Zahrain told Malaysiakini.

Zahrain acknowledged that the situation had reached a boiling point after the lucrative Oasis project developer - Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd - issued a court order of writ of possession to the villagers yesterday.

Lodge a report with MACC

He said sentiments were running high now because an Indian traditional village of nearly 200 years was about to be demolished and flattened in a month's time.

"Lim should not look only at the corporate interests and talk about dollar and cents. It's time for him to visit the village and end the villagers' predicament," said Zahrain, the Bayan Baru parliamentarian.

He pointed out that it was the state government's duty not to allow the villagers to be victimised by the system.

He said the state government should not use the court ruling on the village land as a sheild to hide from its public responsibilities.

He urged the state government to release all the findings of the ongoing investigation into the 'High Chaparral' land scam.

He said the state government should not compromise with anyone if the findings showed that the land had been misappropriated by deception.

He urged the state government to report the issue to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to nab the culprits.

"The court ruling is another matter altogether," said Zahrain.

"Lim should check on the facts behind the crisis and prevent any victimisation. The people's interests must be protected," he added.

Developer lied to the media

Meanwhile, Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairperson M Sugumaran slammed the developer for lying about the facts and figures over the village.

The developer's executive director, Thomas Chan, said that the village only has 21 households, after 10 others moved out after accepting compensation up to RM260,000.

Sugumaran (right) pointed out that the court bailiffs posted the writ of possession to 41 households in the village yesterday.

"This itself is prove that the developer had lied to the media," he said, adding that only seven households had move out after accepting compensations.

He stressed that the compensation offered was not more than RM90,000 for each household.

Don't blame MIC

Meanwhile MIC Youth wing advisor S Vell Paari said Penang government leaders, especially its deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, should not continue blaming MIC for the plight of the villagers.

"How can they blame MIC for this? As a state government, it's their duty to solve the problem of the villagers there rather than passing the buck," he said today.

He also pointed out that while the agreement to develop the land was made by the previous BN government, it was nevertheless incumbent on the present Pakatan government to solve the issue.

"And during the general election, it was them who had said that they will stop the project. They should fulfil that promise now," he said.

Vell Paari, who is in charge of unity committee of MIC, also said that the party's representative in the last BN state government PK Subbaiyah was among the minority voice of exco members to have objected against the sale of the land to the private developer.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Petronas adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today asked what did the government spend with the RM253.6 billion payment from the national oil company over the past six years when his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister.

The former prime minister, a trenchant critic of Abdullah, wrote in his www.chedet.cc weblog that Petronas has been paying dividends, taxes, royalty and export duties to the government since 1976, after it was set up as the national custodian for fossil fuels.

"Where has the money gone to?" Dr Mahathir asked.

He said Petronas began by paying RM300 million in 1976, rising to RM2 billion in 1981, when he assumed office. The total from 1981 to 2003 was RM168.8 billion for the 22 years that marked Dr Mahathir's tenure as the country's fourth prime minister.

"From then onwards it increased from RM19 billion in 2004 to RM67.8 billion in 2009. The total for six years is RM253.6 billion," he said. It is not known if the figures were adjusted for foreign exchange fluctuations as oil is usually quoted in US dollars.

"I am sure the government had spent the money wisely. It would be interesting to know what the RM253.6 billion was spent on," said Dr Mahathir, who retired as prime minister in favour of Abdullah, who stepped down in early April.

His remarks today came after a June 25 announcement by Petronas that it had paid RM30 billion in dividends to the federal government for the financial year ended March 31, 2009.

The amount was despite a 14 per cent decline in net profit to RM52.5 billion due to lower crude oil prices and higher operating costs and included a special dividend of RM6 billion which was declared in the last calendar year. Petronas paid out RM24 billion in the previous financial year.

Apart from the dividends, Petronas — the country's only Fortune 500 company — also paid RM29.4 billion taxes, RM6.2 billion royalties and RM2.2 billion export duties for the last financial year, totalling RM67.8 billion to the federal government against RM56.8 billion in the previous year. - The Malaysian Insider

(The headline for the Malaysian Insider “No let-up as Kit Siang continues attacks against PAS ahead of Kedah trip” is not correct, as it is not reflected in the contents of its report.

It implied that I was continuing to “attack” the Pakatan Rakyat government in Kedah. This is not the case.

It further implied that I had attacked the PR Kedah state government yesterday. This was also not the case.

Pakatan Rakyat is facing a second crisis of confidence and efforts must be made to resolve it.

This is why I am not only meeting the Kedah State DAP tomorrow but also have a dialogue with the people of Kedah in Alor Star tomorrow night. (New Straits Times today had wrongly reported that I would be meeting residents in the abbatoir area when I said I would be having a people’s dialogue in Alor Star).

PETALING JAYA, July 3 — In deflecting suggestions that a trivial issue led to the DAP pulling out of the Kedah Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government, Lim Kit Siang fell back on a cliche, and argued that the pigs were just “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

In a shocking announcement, Kedah DAP announced on Wednesday its decision to pull out of the state government after local authorities demolished the state’s only pig abattoir.

But Lim said today that the abattoir was not the sole reason for the state DAP’s decision.He pointed out that the abattoir issue was symptomatic of the PAS-led state government’s failure to perform and take into account the views of the public.

“Personally, I think the issue in Kedah is not about pigs but the people. It is not about the abattoir even.

“The reason for what happened Kedah is that Kedah DAP felt many issues concerning the people of Kedah were not taken account by the state government. The issue of the abattoir was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he told reporters at DAP headquarters here today.Lim will be heading to Kedah tomorrow to meet with his party members.The DAP veteran also plans to meet with the grassroots and gauge public sentiment on the issue.

PR’s crisis in Kedah is just the latest problem to hit the alliance of DAP, PAS and PKR.PAS is also continuing its flirtation with Umno, and has proposed talks between the Youth wings of the two Malay-Muslim parties.

Such developments have led to an escalation of efforts to quickly bring together the three parties in a more permanent structure akin to the formal coalition of the rival Barisan Nasional (BN).

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said the Kedah DAP’s determination to quit the state government spelled a “crisis of confidence” in Pakatan Rakyat.He described his party’s latest dispute with Pas as the alliance’s

second such crisis coming after senior leaders in the Islamist party proposed unity talks with Umno.

Lim, the member of parliament for Ipoh Timur, said he was “shocked” by the Kedah DAP’s decision to pull out of the state Pakatan over the razing of an illegal pig abattoir in Alor Star.

He said it was still too early to come to any conclusions as he had not been briefed on the complaint by state DAP chairman Thomas Su KeongSiong.

Su, however, said yesterday that an official letter had been faxed to party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng confirming the state DAP committee’s decision to leave the Pas-led state government.

He said he expected the party central executive committee to meet on the matter soon.

“We have to wait for the report, though I must admit there is considerable frustration that their (DAP Kedah’s) views are not taken seriously.

“Undoubtedly, this will not be taken lightly. We view this situation with grave seriousness,” he said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

Lim said he would go to Alor Star tomorrow to meet the state DAP and residents in the abattoir area for their views.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the dispute could be resolved within Pakatan.

“We will consider their (Kedah DAP’s) grouses, but I will also talk to the menteri besar,” he said at the Parliament lobby.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak gave no indication yesterday that he would back down from his stand on the abattoir.

Yesterday, I said that the country needs a new Inspector-General of Police to provide new leadership and vision to regain public confidence in the ability of the Malaysian police to live up to the benchmarks set by the Police Royal Commission Report in 2005 to be an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service with the three core functions to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

Instead, the current IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, is lobbying support for another renewal of his term as the No. 1 police officer of the land instead of gracefully allowing a new IGP to take over the Malaysian police force.

No Minister or MP disputed me when I said in Parliament earlier this week that it is easy to give more than a hundred reasons why the country needs a new IGP and why Musa should not succeed in his lobby to get another term of renewal as IGP.Foremost among the reasons, undoubtedly, is the burial of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) proposal, the key recommendation of the Police Royal Commission set up by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to create a people-friendly and effective police force to keep crime low, clean-up corruption and protect human rights.

The funeral rites for the IPCMC were performed when Parliament passed the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (SIAP) Bill on Tuesday – creating a completely diluted, powerless and visionless Commission as far as creating a world-class police force is concerned.

The call for a new IGP to lead a completely make-over of the police, whether in terms of effectiveness in fighting crime or its public image as a friend and protector of the people, has struck great resonance from the people.

One visitor to my blog, for instance, has volunteered 12 “not exhaustive” reasons why there should be a new IGP, viz:

Storming the Perak State Assembly with firearms and dragging (Perak Speaker) Sivakumar like an animal out of the assembly hall and illegally detaining him for more than an hour.

Attending Fathers’ Day Dinner without invitation and bringing along 2 water cannon water trucks.

Arresting lawyers who act for their clients.

Arresting people wearing black attires.

Arresting people holding a birthday party.

Arresting people holding and presenting birthday cake.

Not allow to direct traffic.

Lighting candles.

Arresting people attending Hari Raya Puasa open house.

Arresting elected representatives who attend to the people in time of need.

Creating unnecessary roadblocks causing traffic jams.

I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to seek and respect public opinion on the need for a new IGP to translate the Police Royal Commission’s vision of “an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service” into reality.

PENANG, July 3 (BERNAMA) -- DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng on Friday warned Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer in Kampung Buah Pala, Bukit Gelugor, that the state government will stop the project if it continues to threaten to demolish the houses in area and refuses to compensate the residents.

makkal osai 030709

"Don't test the state government's patience. I will not hesitate to stop the development project," he said, adding that the state government was prepared to risk having to pay compensation to the developer if it had to cancel the project.

He was speaking to reporters after opening a photography exhibition here.

Asked why he refused to meet the villagers, he said: "I have handed over this task to Mansor (Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman) and Ramasamy (Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy).

So I don't want people questioning their ability."

The Federal Court on June 24 podered the villagers to vacate the place.

--BERNAMA

***********

High Chaparral: Penang warns developer over compensation

The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is prepared to cancel Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd’s project in Kampung Buah Pala if the developer fails to compensate the residents.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Friday that the state was willing to face financial losses over the cancellation and the developer took action.

“I want to warn the developer not to test the state government’s patience because we will not back out just like that,” he told reporters.

Lim warned the developer not to issue threats of moving in to take possession of the houses.

Nusmetro Ventures executive director Thomas Chan was reported saying that the company has a writ of possession and that it would execute it.

Lim also warned the developer not to act in a high-handed manner thinking that it could escape paying compensation just because it had obtained a court order.

He said he had no problem meeting the residents but added that this would give an impression that both his deputies Dr P. Ramasamy and Mansor Othman, who had been assigned to handle the matter, were not capable of doing their job.

“The former state government and BN had created this mess and Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (former chief minister) should address the matter in the Cabinet on Wednesday as the present state government is not financially capable.”

Lim pointed out that the state could not buy back the land at the RM3.2mil price made by the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd (KPKN) to the previous state government as the land was now valued 20 times more.

On the threat by residents to send a letter to Unesco to revoke George Town’s World Heritage Site listing, Lim said they had the right to do so but pointed out that the village was not in the heritage zone.

Deputy Chief Minister (II) Dr Ramasamy, who was present, said the state waited 15 months to investigate the matter as in the beginning the residents had won two cases involving the land in the Penang High Court.

He said the state would check if the documents from the Land Office were in order and find out why the land was sold by the previous state government at such a low price of RM3.2mil.

Kampung Buah Pala Association assistant secretary C. Tharmaraj when contacted questioned the position of the state to talk about compensation issues when it had yet to meet the residents or to complete investigations.

“We don’t want the money. We want the state to reveal how the land transaction happened. The transfer was made on March 26 last year and the council building permission was given in November 2007.”

In a letter dated June 30, K. Vasantha Kumar said Najib’s intervention was “necessary” to prevent the demolition of the village and to provide hope to the 45 families living there.

“I urge the Prime Minister to have an emergency meeting with the developer to stop the demolition and return the land to the residents,” he said.

Vasantha Kumar, who was among five Hindraf leaders detained under the Internal Security Act in December 2007, said if the Najib’s 1Malaysia concept was to become a reality, members of all races, languages, religions and creeds should be treated fairly and equally.

Kampung Buah Pala, popularly known as Penang’s High Chaparral, has been occupied for the past 200 years but its population has now dwindled to 45 families. It is the last known village occupied by Indians in Penang island.

In 2007, the 6.4-acre site was sold for RM3.21mil to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd, a cooperative, which entered into a joint venture agreement with Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd for a development project.

The residents had strongly objected and appealed to former Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon to reconsider the sale of the land, to no avail.

The villagers received a notice on Aug 30, 2007, asking them to move out so that their houses could be demolished while compensation talks were ongoing.

After a series of appeals, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on June 24.

The village has been earmarked for a low medium and medium-cost housing project comprising 740 units, eight shoplots, a community hall and a kindergarten.

In his decision, Mohamad Ariff ruled that if a delegate was dissatisfied with the election results, Rule 6 (6) of the MTUC Constitution required the delegate to address the matter during the Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC).

"For the court to interfere, there must be some overhelming or exceptional circumstances ... [such as] a defiance of a court order," he said.

In this case, the objection was taken after the TDC had completed its proceedings, and that there was no existence of any conflict or non-compliance with a court order, he said.

"The rules of the MTUC bind the members inter se, as well as regulate the position of the members against the union, and as such should be regarded as determining what has been chosen and accepted by the members as their rules of governance," he said.

Mohamad Ariff said that rules could, of course, be changed or improved by the union but for the moment, Rule 6 (6) limited how and when a challenge to eligibility of delegates may be taken.

PETALING JAYA, 3 July 2009: The Penang government needs to intervene and solve the Kampung Buah Pala issue even though the problem was caused by the previous Barisan Nasional administration, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said today.

"[W]e urge the Pakatan Rakyat government to resolve this issue politically using the mandate given by the people of Penang to them in the last election," PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said in a statement today.

He said the party did not believe in a legal solution as there have been precedents in other cases where the courts ultimately favoured the rich and powerful.

He said PSM believed that the Kampung Buah Pala residents, who have lived in the village for decades, have a legitimate right to the disputed land.

"The historical facts support their existence and their right over the land," said Arutchelvan, who visited the village yesterday with PSM national deputy chairperson M Saraswathy and other party leaders.

Describing the village settlement as "old, traditional, and very beautiful", Arutchelvan called on the Penang government to stop all forced evictions until the state's probe into allegations of power abuse and corruption in the land transfer was completed.

"Any forced eviction, if carried out, is going to be ugly and will have serious consequences as the people are very determined to safeguard their home, livelihood and heritage," he said.

"We will stand by the villagers if there is any attempt to evict them forcefully," said Arutchelvan, adding that PSM would also mobilise other settlers and organisations to stand by the villagers.

Not racial

Arutchelvan also said the issue was primarily a class dispute between the developer who had obtained the land and the villagers who have lived and developed the land for decades.

"We would denounce any attempt by any groups to stir this issue into a racial issue," he added.

MIC has said the conflict could turn into a racial issue while Hindraf has accused Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of neglecting the rights of Indian Malaysians in the state.

Located in the eastern part of George Town, Kampung Buah Pala, also known as High Chaparral, is the last urban village occupied by Indian Malaysians on Penang island.

The 6.4-acre site was sold for RM3.21mil to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd in 2007, which later joined forces with Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, to develop the area.

Koh Residents objected strongly to the development project and also appealed to former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, but to no avail.

On 30 Aug 2007, the 45 families in the village received a notice requesting them to evacuate while compensation talks were still ongoing. After a series of court appeals, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on 24 June 2009.

On 1 July 2009, angry residents demanded for Lim's resignation, saying he had failed to fulfill his election promise to return villagers their land rights.

Yesterday, around 100 residents protested near the village entrance when officials attempted to enter it to serve eviction notices. The villagers were given one month notice, till 3 Aug 2009, to vacate their premises.

Yesterday, Lim also issued a warning to the developer who had threatened to send bulldozers to the village on 2 Aug 2009 to forcibly evict the residents and demolish their houses.

Today, the residents have threatened to sabotage George Town's World Heritage status by sending a letter to Unesco should the Penang government fail to prevent the demolition of their village.

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 July 2009: The hearing of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's application for documents from the prosecution relating to his sodomy trial was adjourned to 8 July by the High Court here today because his lead counsel was unwell.

Counsel Sulaiman Abdullah informed the court that he had been feeling giddy since yesterday when Anwar's case was heard at the Court of Appeal.

Two hours later, one of Anwar's counsel, SN Nair, informed the media that Sulaiman had been given medical leave until 7 July.

The court had fixed today to hear Anwar's application to compel the prosecution to provide him with all the documents pertaining to his sodomy case.

Among the documents sought are the original CCTV recordings taken at several locations at the scene of the alleged incident in Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setia Kasih, Bukit Damansara; the DNA samples; statements from witnesses, including the complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan; and police statements.

On 8 July, the court is also scheduled to hear Anwar's application to strike out his sodomy charge. The court had also fixed the same day for his sodomy trial.

It’s time to lift the corporate veil on the developer of the Oasis project, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, to find out who the people behind it are. The company was previously known as Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd, until the name was changed in 29 April 2005 - around the same time the previous state government entered into an agreement with the Penang Senior Civil Servants Cooperative to alienate the High Chaparral land.

The Nusmetro Group website is very “shy” when it comes to revealing the names of the top people in the company. So we need to look elsewhere.

The four directors of Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, according to information from registered company documents as at 3 February 2009 filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, are as follows:

Mohamad Faridz bin Karim from Balik Pulau

Lim Lai Cheng @ Lim Choh Poh from PJ

Au Chee Kuan from PJ

Lam Chung Fatt from Batu Caves

According to a PKR source, Mohamad Faridz is believed in Balik Pulau circles to be allegedly linked to a Penang Umno bigwig.

Although the status of the company is described as “existing”, the nature of business is described as “dormant”.

Imagine: the nature of business of a company involved in the multi-million ringgit Oasis project is described as “dormant”. What’s more, the firm has an issued share capital of only RM250,000.

A Nusmetro official reportedly claimed the company was losing RM6 million a year due to the delay in the project.

For the year ended 30 June 2008, records with the Companies Commission of Malaysia show that Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd posted a loss before tax of RM1.7 million. For the previous year, the loss before tax was RM348,000.

The company has non-current assets of just RM363,000 as at 30 June 2008.

Its current assets amount to RM14.1 million but its current liabilities total RM17.0 million.

Now, how did a company with a share capital of only RM250,000, with its nature of business described as “dormant” land up with a multi-million ringgit project?